The field of the present invention relates to commerce by digital transfer. In particular, apparatus and methods are described herein for inventory, sale, and delivery of digitally transferable goods.
Commerce conducted electronically, over the world-wide computer network known as the Internet, is a relatively recent phenomenon that has nevertheless grown into an important segment of the economy. A shopper or buyer with network access may find information for a product, and submit an order request over the network. The vendor then ships the item, and the buyer pays for the merchandise by standard means (credit card, check, invoice, debit, etc.). The ability to shop for and buy products from any location having network access, including one's home or place of business, has and will continue to revolutionize commerce in the coming years.
However, at present, many systems for conducting such commerce are merely marketing and order-taking systems, with product information available for download by a shopper or buyer, means for a buyer to digitally transmit an order request, possibly including a credit card number or other payment authorization. Most goods must be delivered by more traditional means, and inventory is independent of the order-taking system. In addition, buyers and shoppers are usually restricted to view product information and purchase goods from one vendor (or provider) of goods at a time. For example, an Internet site at http://www1.viaweb.com/stores/ provides access to a variety of providers of products. By entering the area of a provider, the shopper has access to product information from that provider only, and may only order products from that provider. The orders are transmitted from the network site to the provider, who actually fills the order and receives payment. A similar procedure is used at an Internet site at http://www.amazon.com. Books and recorded music are marketed and sold at this site, with the order being transmitted over the Internet, and goods are shipped and payment received. At an Internet site at http://www.ebay.com, items are offered for auction by the public, and information about the item is available for viewing or download. Buyers transmit bids over the Internet, and the system at the site administers the bidding and determines the winning bid. The winning bidder and seller are then put into direct contact to arrange for shipping and payment.
But even items potentially deliverable digitally (stocks, bonds, tickets, reservation) are still delivered physically, perhaps with a receipt or order confirmation delivered electronically. A network site at http://www.discoverbrokerage.com allows submission of “buy” and “sell” requests for stocks and mutual funds. The network site merely processes the requests, but does not execute the trades. Several airlines offer electronic tickets over the Internet (i.e., e-tickets). Once again, only the order and payment are handled by digital transfer over the network. A receipt may be provided electronically, but the goods (in this case, a boarding pass) must still be obtained in person at the airport.
In none of these network sites is there on-site storage of digitally transferable inventory of goods for immediate delivery of purchased goods over the network. In many of these systems the providers must perform their own marketing, collect their own funds, store their own inventory, and manage access to their network-based information.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer providing shopper access to products from a plurality of providers simultaneously. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer allowing purchase of goods from a plurality of providers in a single order. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer which allow providers to immediately upload and store, and/or modify previously stored, digitally transferable goods and product information pertaining thereto, and to receive detailed marketing and sales information. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer in which marketing, collections, inventory storage, and access management for a plurality of providers may be handled by a single system. It is desirable to provide apparatus and methods for commerce by digital transfer which allow a buyer to immediately download purchased goods.